KCACTF Results 2014


02/12/2015

Each year, invited productions from Region V transport their shows from the previous year to be viewed by festival participants; industry professionals give workshops; and students from all different areas of theatre have the opportunity to participate in competitions and performances.

But work for this festival starts way before January.

Students participating in the competitions, interviews, and auditions worked with professors and showed their work in December for the theatre faculty and students participating in the festival.

Then, a few days prior to leaving for the festival, they gave second showings in January. Those were a little different this year; instead of a closed stage, the performances were open to the public. SAU students and members of the community came to support us. It was a great way for the theatre students to perform for an audience that was not just full of their peers and teachers. Sister Joan even made an appearance to support the Theatre Department!

Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Competition

Upon completion of each main stage show, a KCACTF respondent provided the cast and crew with constructive feedback and chose two nominees for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition. Those nominees chose a partner with whom they prepare their 6-minute audition set: two contrasting scenes and a monologue.

There were 314 nominated students from Region V competing in the festival preliminary round. After that round, 64 nominees remained to compete in the semi-finals and only 16 nominees were left standing for the finals. There is one winner chosen from each region to advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C., in April. St. Ambrose's current record is three students who won the regional competition.

SAU's nominees this year were:

· Junior Shannon Rourke (with partner sophomore Sam Jones) and senior Chris Galvan (with partner Molly Conrad '14) nominated from The Laramie Project,
· Senior Brooke Schelly (with partner sophomore Sam Jones) and junior Becca Brazel (with partner junior Conor Strandquist) nominated from The Importance of Being Earnest
· Junior Jordan McGinnis (with partner junior Amelia Fischer) and junior Jonathan Johnson (with partner sophomore Kelci Eaton) nominated from Working

Rourke became a semifinalist, so they performed again for a different set of judges on the third day of the festival. People say that making the first cut is the hardest, so good for them!

"Making it to semifinals was such a rewarding experience," Rourke said. "Even though I didn't get to finals, I reached my goal, and there's always next year!

"Sam Jones was an amazing partner and made the whole process even better. I couldn't have done it without him. He brought so many ideas to the floor that I never would have thought of, and our scenes would not have been nearly as good without him. I have learned so much from this process. It was a lot of work, but so worth it, and I really hope I have the opportunity to compete again before I graduate!"

Congrats Shannon and Sam!


About the Festival

This past January, about 20 St. Ambrose theatre students and five faculty members braced the Minnesota winter and traveled to the annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). This week-long festival includes 82 schools, and nearly 1,500 festival participants from Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, which make up Region V.

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